Orpheus, returning from Hades without Eurydice

Marie Alexandre Lucien Coudray

1893–99, struck in the 20th century · Partially patinated iron · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Born in Paris, Coudray entered the École des Beaux-Arts in 1882. In 1893 he won the Prix de Rome with a medal of Orpheus at the Gates of Hell. While staying at the Villa Medici in Rome, Coudray designed a steel medallion of the same subject, which may have been the obverse of this medal. The Paris Mint purchased the issuing rights in 1899, going on to sell over 4500 copies at the 1900 Exposition Universelle, where it won a silver prize.

Artist

Marie Alexandre Lucien Coudray

Date

1893–99, struck in the 20th century

Medium

Partially patinated iron

Culture

French, Paris

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019